Another blow to the recording industry

In an opinion handed down yesterday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that file sharing networks Grokster and StreamCast are not liable for the alleged copyright violations of individual users.

The decision looked at a number of factors.

The court found no actionable knowledge by Grokster and StreamCast, since the products may be used in a way that does not infringe any copyright.  Additionally, the court found no material contribution by Grokster and Streamcast to the infringement by any users.  The court also considered the ability of Grokster and Streamcast to police the use of individuals.  It found that neither had the ability to block access to individual users.  Lastly, the court cited the United States Supreme Court in stating that Congress should decide this sort of issue, quoting:

The direction of Art. I is that Congress shall have the power to promote the progress of science and the useful arts.  When, as here, the Constitution is permissive, the sign of how far Congress has chosen to go can only come from Congress.

Congress has spoken indirectly to the issue in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, but has yet to address the issue head-on, so contact your Senator or Representative today and let them know what you want!